Friday, December 19, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1914

Double Soul Birthday: Chaka Khan, Rufus Thomas Plus James Brown Returns to the Apollo

Roger Friedman
-
0

Yesterday it was Aretha Franklin’s birthday. Tonight it’s a 60th bday celebration for the amazing Chaka Khan. She’s having a big party on Manhattan’s west side with lots of celebs–although (sorry Page Six) Ms. Franklin sends her regrets.She’s got a big show up in White Plains. Chaka is a true survivor, and we are all better for it…

…Today would have been Rufus Thomas’s 96th birthday. He left us in 2001 with a huge legacy. The cornerstone of Stax Records with “Walking the Dog” and “The Funky Chicken” Rufus was the consummate showman. He was a deejay (he brought Elvis Presley to black radio– on WDIA), then became a full time performer. He had his own hits, and hits with his daughter Carla Thomas. They were the most beloved music stars out of of Memphis. Carla is still there, and so is Marvell, her famed keyboard playing brother (he’s on almost every classic Stax track). Their sister Vaneese lives here in New York and is one of the most sought after back up singers anywhere.

Did you know that Rufus and his wife Lorene– who worked with Martin Luther King– were married by Aretha Franklin’s father? I had the pleasure of getting to know Rufus and his family during the filming of “Only the Strong Survive.” He was was warm and hilarious, and one of the greatest American musical artists of all time. We miss you, Rufus! Your legend lives on.

One more thing: James Brown returns to the Apollo Theater this fall. “Get on the Good Foot”– a celebration of James Brown — will debut on October 22nd. Great choreographers from all over will stage this dancin’ tribute to the Godfather of Soul. Sounds terrific…

Flash! Jacqueline Bisset Will Play “Mrs DSK” Anne Sinclair in Depardieu Movie

Roger Friedman
-
0
Flash! Jacqueline Bisset Will Play “Mrs DSK” Anne Sinclair in Depardieu Movie

Flash! Jacqueline Bisset, one of my all time favorite actresses, is replacing Isabelle Adjani in the movie about “DSK.” Bisset will play Anne Sinclair, the wealthy French journalist who was married to Dominique Strauss Kahn when he was arrested and detained in New York two years ago. Gerard Depardieu is scheduled to play DSK in this wild saga about the powerful French politician and businessman who was accused of raping a maid. The story made international headlines. It pretty much destroyed DSK’s career, brought out other allegations and accusations.

Sinclair stood by her husband and funded his defense. But when they returned to France, she dumped him very quickly. I’m sure Adjani would have been just fine. But Bisset will bring an intelligence and elegance to the role, as well as a defiance over what happened to her life. From the casting descriptions, this Abel Ferrara film sounds like it may try to make DSK “redeemed” in some way. I certainly hope not. The only way to make that movie work is to show Sinclair’s journey to leaving DSK. Of course, in the film, the characters are “fictional”–different names-and he’s “a college professor on his way to becoming president of France.”

Bisset is one of Hollywood’s great gems. Still gorgeous, she’s also one of the brightest people in town. She’s never played by the rules even though she’s been in big budget studio films and terrific indies. This still untitled film sounds like it could be a big winner.

Aretha Franklin Gets “Happy Birthday” Serenade from “Motown” Broadway Musical Cast

Roger Friedman
-
1
Aretha Franklin Gets “Happy Birthday” Serenade from “Motown” Broadway Musical Cast

EXCLUSIVE What a birthday night for Miss Aretha Franklin! First the cast of the “Motown” musical already selling out to the rafters serenaded her at the end of the Monday night show. The whole cast and the audience sang the Stevie Wonder “Happy Birthday” song to the Queen of Soul, who brought about a dozen guests. She herself sang along with the show full of Motown hits. The cast didn’t even know she was in the audience until the intermission. Then after the show many members of the cast– as well as the legendary Berry Gordy Jr.– joined Aretha for a swanky birthday party at the Ritz Carlton on Central Park South.

And wait: before the show, Aretha and pals had an Early Bird Supper at one of New York’s very best restaurants– Le Bernardin. This elegant eatery is known for its fish. But Aretha wanted veal scallopini. So she called ahead and they made it for her! Now, this is royalty. She paid the bill herself and couldn’t stop complimenting the cuisine.

Then off to “Motown” where, she told me later, she sang along with the show and kept screaming “The Temps” for the Temptations. “Motown” brings to life many of the Motown stars and their three dozen or so hits. Actors play Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Martha Reeves, the original Temptations, Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson. Sadly, no Four Tops. And last night, as Gordy keeps trimming the show, they stopped the Miracles’ number “Tears of a Clown.”

At the Ritz Carlton, Aretha was met by Tony Bennett and his wife Susan, who came to pay their respects. The party was tres elegant. Each guest received a Sylvia Weinstock baked miniature Grammy Award with their name on the faceplate. Aretha’s cake was the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen, also a Weinstock original. And the guests included friends from New York and Detroit, as well as Rev. Al Sharpton (who’s really unbelievably thin at this point) plus BET’s Debra Lee, the Bennetts, Berry Gordy, the “Motown” cast. Music was provided by a combo led by legendary jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller. There were cakes everywhere. Aretha said, “This is for when everyone finishes their Seder.”

photo c2013 Showbiz411

UPDATE Justin Timberlake Album “20/20” Sold Close to a Million Copies

Roger Friedman
-
0
UPDATE Justin Timberlake Album “20/20” Sold Close to a Million Copies

SECOND UPDATE: With about 70% of sales counted so far, “20/20” is at 760,000 copies. That’s more than the combined sales of the rest of the top 50 last week.

UPDATE Justin Timberlake’s “20/20” album looks like it will hit between 975,000 and 980,000. This according to our pals at hitsdailydouble.com. Not a million? Anyway, the hits hit counter has a glitch, but they’ll be up and at it shortly.  The original writers of “Suit and Tie” should be celebrating. Let’s hope they got a good deal for use of their song “Sho Nuff.” Keep refreshing for updates…

EARLIER Well, well. A week on Jimmy Fallon, plus “Saturday Night Live,” not to mention the Grammy Awards and the after parties and the constant barrage of media–it’s all worked. Hitsdailydouble.com says “The 20/20 Experience” should come a cropper on Monday with between 800,000 and 900,000 copies sold. But I am told that the number could be higher. Two versions of “20/20” are occupying the numbers 1 and 2 slots on iTunes. The album is number 1 everywhere else. “Suit & Tie” — based on a song called “Sho Nuff” by 70s R&B group Sly Slick and Wicked (Cleveland edition) has turned into a huge hit. Timberlake and Jay Z will head off on arena tour this spring. Everyone else sampled or interpolated on “20/20” will get paid handsomely (at some point). All that’s left is for JT to sing for President Obama to complete this marketing plan. I like Justin Timberlake doing comedy more than doing soul, and Robin Thicke may be knocking soon, asking for his act back, but if the success of “20/20” gets people to investigate the underlying real thing, I’m all for it.

Rolling Stones Summer Concert Deal with $20 Mil Advance Took Only 45 Minutes

Roger Friedman
-
3
Rolling Stones Summer Concert Deal with $20 Mil Advance Took Only 45 Minutes

The recent surprising news that the Rolling Stones’ 18 arena concerts in the US would be promoted by AEGLive took only 45 minutes to negotiate. As recently as two weeks ago, I told you that AEG would promote the Stones two shows in Hyde Park, London in July. But the 18 American dates, beginning in May in Vancouver, were going to be through Australian Paul Dainty fronting for Richard Branson’s Virgin Live. That pairing had taken care of the Stones’ five in November and December, at the o2 Arena, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and the Prudential Center in Newark.

Those dates had been a great success. The Stones got a $25 million advance, and sold out all the shows after charging astronomical prices for the tickets.

This time around. I am told, the Stones wanted at least a $20 million advance as well as a line of credit from which they could draw down as the dates progressed. Sources say they were waiting for Dainty/Branson to come through with a letter of credit showing they had the funds and were ready to go. But something happened–no one’s sure what. At the last minute, the AEG execs got a call from the Stones’ lawyer Joyce Smyth. The letter of credit was not coming through. Could AEG pick up the slack?

They say that it one phone call fromA AEG Live’s Randy Phillips to AEG owner Philip Anschutz. “The whole thing took a total of 45 minutes,” says a source. “Phil knows what it is to have the Stones.”

So far, 18 dates are booked but none yet in Madison Square Garden. That would be the likely last stop for the Stones in the US–and maybe their farewell forever show.  Meantime, I am told that the bottom ticket prices will be lower than the ones from last fall. (They couldn’t be higher.) Nosebleed seating will have a lower price point. And with Lady Gaga off the circuit, and contemporary bands just not so interesting, expect the 51 year old Stones to be the summer’s big draw.

photo c2013 Showbiz411

As Predicted Here: 2014 Oscars On March 2nd

Roger Friedman
-
0
As Predicted Here: 2014 Oscars On March 2nd

Just as I told you a few weeks ago, the 2014 Academy Awards will be held a little late– on March 2nd. That’s because of the Winter Olympics wiping out the month of February. Everything else has been pushed back into January including the Grammy Awards. The last thing you’ll see on TV before the Olympics will be the Super Bowl from New York on February 2nd. Rest at ease, the Oscars return to February 22, 2015. All the Oscar prognostcators already know who won those awards.

There’s a silver lining to the moved date for next year. The nominations announcement will move back to after the Golden Globes, which will held on January 12th. The deadline for voting will be January 8th. So get ready. Time waits for no one.

here’s my original story about all these dates:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/03/03/tv-wars-2014-winter-olympics-could-push-oscars-to-first-sunday-in-march

Happy Birthday Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Still Reigning

Roger Friedman
-
0
Happy Birthday Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Still Reigning

It’s Aretha Franklin’s birthday. She’s got a party in New York tonight, and then two dates in the tri-state area. She is still the Queen of Soul, with a catalog that shows her immense range and diversity as the greatest singer of our time. No one comes close to matching Franklin’s tone and delivery although there some amazing singers out there. No one working today will ever match what Franklin’s done in part because they simply don’t have the songs, the hits, the arrangements. There’s no “Respect” for Beyonce, or any of the others. How many of Aretha’s records just make you want to start dancing in your car, in your seat, down an aisle in the grocery store? Here are just a few gifts she’s given to us:

“Mad Men” First Three Episodes Get Names

Roger Friedman
-
0
“Mad Men” First Three Episodes Get Names

There’s always a lot of secrecy leading up to the new season of “Mad Men.” So I’m happy to say that at least we now know the title of the first three (or four ) episodes of Season Six. The first two hour episode is called “The Doorway.” Then Episode 2 (or 3, since “The Doorway” counts as two) is “The Collaborators,” and it’s directed by series star Jon Hamm. Episode 4 is “To Have and to Hold.” A Los Angeles screening audience saw “The Doorway” last week. I’m not sure if anyone in New York will see anything but screeners went out to reviewers. Everyone’s been asked to keep a tight lid on the storyline. We do know that “The Doorway” was partially shot in Hawaii, that Don Draper is best man at a soldier’s beach wedding, and that since we saw them all Megan Draper is now acting in something full time. (Broadway, soap opera, something.) I am told that we’ll see a lot of Betty Draper Francis (January Jones), much more than in last season when Jones was pregnant or giving birth. Sundays get a lot better beginning April 7th.

A Phil Spector Broadway Musical? Murderer’s Wife Should Keep Her Money

Roger Friedman
-
0
A Phil Spector Broadway Musical? Murderer’s Wife Should Keep Her Money

A Broadway musical about Phil Spector? If I were Rachelle Spector, the 32 year old woman who married Phil Spector after he was arrested for murder– and before he received a 19 years to life sentence– I’d keep my money. The latest and last (presumably) Mrs. Spector tells Tim Appelo in The Hollywood Reporter that she’s got plans to put Phil’s life and music on stage.

This sanitized version of Spector’s life, she says, is already underway. I don’t know who’s writing this thing. but my advice is, stop now.  There is no audience for a musical called “Be My Baby” or whatever. Not one about Spector. As much as the excellent HBO “Phil Spector” movie is presented as a “fiction,” it’s pretty accurate up to a point. And I don’t think the public will be forking over $150 a ticket to see Rachelle Spector’s version of events turned into a musical comedy.

Indeed, while Rachelle complains to Appelo about the HBO movie, someone licensed Spector’s music to HBO for use in the film. And that would have to have been her, since Phil’s in jail. This is interesting since Spector won’t allow his famous ex wife Ronnie, who he treated like dirt, didn’t pay, etc, to use her songs in a dramatic presentation. Ronnie Spector has been trying to mount a stage show about her life. But as she says in the performance, Phil Spector has prohibited her from using her own hits.

Nevertheless, Ronnie’s master recording of “Be My Baby” is heard right at the beginning of David Mamet’s “Phil Spector” movie.

Rachelle Spector also says in that interview that she’s got a new deal with Sony Legacy. Well, no. The deal was announced in September 2009. The great Spector boxed set, “Back to Mon0,” is now out of print from ABKCO Records. Too bad.

And the musical? Phil Spector murdered Lana Clarkson. I do think audiences will be a tad uncomfortable celebrating his life and legend, dancing in the aisles, knowing their hard earned money will be going straight to his bank accounts. As much of a genius as Spector was, he was also crazy. And now, like O.J. Simpson, he is paying the price for his bad deeds.

Saturday Night: The Champ Takes It Easy; Cissy Houston Turns Out for A Friend

Roger Friedman
-
0

Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona: Muhammad Ali, the Champ, took it easy all weekend for his annual Fight Night celebrity fundraiser. Ali, who’s 71 and still in there fighting, skipped the Friday night private dinner and was very low key on Saturday night. There were tons of celebrities, though: Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, “Soul Man” Sam Moore, basketball legend Nancy Lieberman, Jennifer Lopez with her young man, and so on including Billy Ray Cyrus, Bo Derek, producer David Foster, and emcee Reba McEntire. Italian singing star Andrea Bocelli flew in from Italy just to appear at Fight Night….

Saturday in Harlem: Cissy Houston and Dionne Warwick turned out for their great friends Vy Higgensen and Ken Wydro. It’s the 30th anniversary of Vy’s much loved show “Mama I Want to Sing.” At the gala at the Dempsey Theater on West 127th St: Valerie Simpson, 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl, Damon Dash, Angie Stone, and Nate Berkus.

“Mama” is based on the story of Vy’s late sister, the great Doris Troy– “Just One Look (That’s All it Took)”– who defied her family and left the church to sing pop music. Doris was a singer’s singer– she recorded solo album for the Beatles’ Apple Records, and is the voice you hear all though Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

“Mama I Want to Sing” also begat The Mama Foundation in Harlem– a school for young people getting into music, learning gospel. You can always send money their way at www.mamafoundation.org.

PS the whole “Mama” was underwritten by Freddie Gershon and his wife Myrna, who are great philanthropists. If you don’t know, Freddie was a music lawyer in the early 70s with big stars. Then he joined Robert Stigwood Organization, and was the man behind “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.” Freddie and Myrna are top notch do-gooders.

1...1,9131,9141,915...2,324Page 1,914 of 2,324

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com